


The Story of us

by thedissonantnote



Category: Original Work
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-29
Updated: 2016-01-21
Packaged: 2018-05-10 03:11:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5568622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thedissonantnote/pseuds/thedissonantnote
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is for you, useless nerds. Happy holigays!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AryaStark22](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AryaStark22/gifts), [mhbills92](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mhbills92/gifts), [Nar](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nar/gifts), [Erin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Erin/gifts).



“We’ve been over this, and I told you M: drop it. I’m not going”

“Oh, come on! Don’t be ridiculous! The place is awesome!” said M, with what can only be described as the most excited face ever. “They have all kinds of things to do, places to go. We’ve been doing nothing for almost thirty years now, it’s time”

“You’ve been dragging me around for centuries now, and I always tell you I go because, usually, I don’t have anything better to do.” Vamp was, as usual, lying on the living couch, reading one of her incomprehensible books and addressed M while reading—because of course Vamp would never consider anything or anyone more important than a book. They’ve had this argument a million times over the last four months. Long story short: M wanted to go to college, again, and Vamp wanted nothing to do with it. They were both addicted to books, but of a different kind, and the last time Vamp had shown the tiniest interest about anything, it was during the 80s. Ever since then, she spent half her days complaining, and the other half reading, or sleeping.

M snorted at that. “Yeah, right. Whatever you say, bro. This could be a great chance though. Think about it: it’s the 21st century” it was Vamp’s turn to snort now, “I know, I know; but people are finally starting to realize things. Just look at these guys” they said while turning their laptop so Vamp could see it “They have a course called ‘queer lit’!! This is amazing! Come on man, I don’t want to go alone. We could like, rent an apartment near campus—don’t worry, it’ll be kinda far so the noises will not annoy you—and I could go to college while you do... Whatever it is you do. I heard they have an existentialist philosophy course.” They said grinning. They knew she was obsessed with Sartre and Camus (although Vamp would probably yell at them for three hours if they called him an existentialist), and she’d be interested in anything that was related to them. If this didn’t convince her, nothing would.

Vamp sighed, and M knew they had won. Seriously, sometimes she was _so_ predictable.

“Fine, we’ll give it a shot. You have one month to prove me that ‘university life’ nowadays can be as rewarding as our days back at Princeton. If, by the end of the month, I still don’t like it, I’m going back to Italy.”

“Yes!!! Yes!!!” they said, jumping around the apartment in excitement.

“Oh, shut the fuck up! I’m trying to read here, you know”

“Whatever. You have three weeks to get ready, so don’t worry. We have time” They said as they exited the room, getting ready for university life, again.

 

It was move-in day and, as it could be expected, the campus was filled with what Vamp described as “overly-excited dimwits, and brainless frat-dudes”, running around with bags and all kinds of items, trying to settle in and get used to their new (for them) home. M had managed to get an apartment on the most remote corner of the campus. It was close enough to walk to class, and far enough so Vamp wouldn’t be annoyed by—or temped to eat—any of the students. It was a nice enough place: it had two bedrooms, a big living room, and a relatively small kitchen—a thing neither of them cared about, since the only thing they usually had was blood, and the random bottle of booze. It was on the fifth floor—Vamp refused to live anywhere with a shitty view; and a small garage so they could keep Vamp’s motorcycle and M’s car.

Vamp had just finished putting her books into place (they occupied almost every wall of the living room), when M came in carrying a lot of boxes.

“Oh my god! Did you bring every single book you own?! Where am I going to put mine?”

“You’re kidding, right? This is not even a third of what I have back in the Villa, and as far as your books go, you have a room, don’t you? I won’t have any of your shitty literature on my shelves.”

“Are you calling William Shakespeare shitty?!” they hissed.

Vamp rolled her eyes. “Fine, maybe you do have some taste; probably got it from me.”

“Ha! As you say, bro. If you excuse me, I have things to do. Classes start soon, I gotta get ready”

Vamp rolled her eyes, again—after so many centuries, how they haven’t gotten stuck in the back of her head is a miracle, really. “I still don’t understand how, after so many centuries, you still manage to be as excited as a teenager. I thought after the fifth time you’d have calmed down.”

“It’s queer lit, bro! How can you not be into it?!” now they were putting the booze in the kitchen. _They’re finally doing something useful._

“Uh, why? Because I’m queer too? I’d rather take a girl home than read a 300-page essay on how to ‘correctly arouse’ my partner” she said, smirking.

“That book was good, okay? You didn’t read it, so you don’t get to talk!” they said. They were _really_ passionate about their books. Deep down, Vamp really admired them for it, though she’d never admit it out loud. They had a point though, this acceptance of ‘queer stuff’, as she so gallantly called it, was pretty new and refreshing. At least it was one thing less to hide.

“Whatever. I’ve finished here, so I’m going out. I still have to see what classes I’m taking. I’m thinking a philosophy major with a math minor, what do you say?” it’s not like it really mattered what she was studying, since she probably knew more than all the teachers combined, but at least she could make sure she enjoyed her time here.

“Sounds good, bro. Have fun”

Vamp exited the apartment, and started walking through the quad towards the main building, where all the offices were. One would think that, since it was almost night-time, there would be less ‘kids’ running around campus. Well, one would be wrong. She made her way through a very sweaty, very horny mass of barely-not teenagers—ignoring the whistles and pathetic attempts of flirting thrown her way as she walked by—until she got to the office. Luckily for her, M was right: the University actually had a few classes on existentialism—Sartre, Nietzsche, the usual. They also did have a decent science program, and since she hadn’t had the chance to fully study quantum physics, she thought she might as well make the best of it, and actually learn something for a change.

As she got out of the office, she ran into someone, quite literally. She was so focused reading the paper they’d given her she didn’t see the girl who approached her, carrying way too many books for a regular human. She heard the sound of said books falling to the ground, and saw a very clumsy, blonde girl kneeling to pick them up.

“Ugh, crap. I’m so, so...” she looked up and raised her eyebrows. Poor thing, she looked so lost. “...Sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it, cutie.” Vamp said with a grin. She probably could have been a bitch, as usual, but she actually felt a bit sorry for the poor girl, looking so lost. She didn’t look like a freshman though, so she was probably just very clumsy. Whatever, it wasn’t her problem. She turned around and kept walking. Thanks to her vampire hearing she caught a little “Wow” that made her smirk a little bit—so predictable, and yet it was always fun. Maybe this place would have its fun after all.

 

The first week went by without any real excitement, and by the time Friday came along, Vamp and M found themselves drinking at their favourite bar in the city. It wasn’t too far away from campus, just far enough so they wouldn’t run into too many students. It was a really old bar, previously owned by this German guy who kept making crappy jokes in a very strange mix of German and English. How the clients didn’t lose their shit and left was beyond vamp, though she actually liked the guy. He really liked her too, since Vamp could speak German and talked animatedly with him about ‘the good old country ’. She didn’t really know what’d happened to him, nor did she know who the new owner was, but she did know the whole staff—talk about regulars. M usually came along for the ride to be with their bro, though the main reason was the free booze. M’s relationship with booze was probably what was defined as ‘true love’, it was quite amusing to see, actually.

The good—and bad— thing about being a vampire was that they could get really drunk as any other human, but the effect lasted a very short time. At least they didn’t have hangovers, so there was that. That particular condition made them the best drinkers, and most of the time people ended up wanting to compete—and losing, of course—against them, which basically meant one thing: free booze. The other main reason why they came to this bar was the bartender, Carly. She was a lovely curly-haired lady, probably in her mid-twenties, who loved to chat with both of them. M simply adored her, and even Vamp, who was known for hating everybody, seemed happy every time she was around.

“Hey Carls, you lovely human!” slurred M, as their third bottle of wine was brought to the table.

“M, this is the fifth time you greet me tonight” said Carly, nice as always, a small smile on her lips. She was probably amused; M did this every single time they came.

While M continued what could only be described as ‘praising’ Carly, Vamp rolled her eyes and gave poor Carly a very, very generous tip; and when she tried to give it back to her, as she always did, Vamp simply said “Carls, all the money on the world wouldn’t be payment enough for standing this useless bum” she said, nodding towards M.

M began saying something but was cut off when Vamp carried them out the room. “Have a good night, Carls!” She could hear Carly’s soft laughter as she walked out of the bar.

 

Vamp was Italian, and loved Italian food, but Mexican was one of her dirty pleasures, especially tacos (both kinds, but let’s stick with food here, shall we?); which is why she found herself every afternoon walking towards the stand that was located near the labs. A few weeks had passed and she had noticed that, every time she went to buy tacos, there was another girl doing the same. At first she didn’t give it much thought, until one day there was only one taco left, and it was reserved for this very same girl. She offered a lot of money for the damn thing, but it seems whoever was in charge of selling the food was a friend of this girl, and refused to give it away. Vamp, rightfully annoyed, waited until said girl showed up, to see if she could figure out a way to convince her to give her the remaining taco.

The girl finally showed up, and Vamp had to cover her mouth to help the uncontrolled laughter that threatened to escape her lips. The girl was wearing a very baggy Rainbow shirt, and a hat that was as gay as a hat could get—Vamp had never thought hats could be gay, but this was living proof they could.

By the time the girl bought the taco, Vamp didn’t even want it; she just wanted to annoy the poor girl—how do you see someone dressed like that and not feel an impulse to drop, at least ten snarky comments? And, since she always did whatever she wanted, she snorted and the snarky comments began rolling off of her tongue.

“Nice outfit there, Little Rainbow”

“Excuse me?”

“I’m afraid the gay parade is that way, though” she said, pointing towards a random direction. As the she finished her comment, she saw something in the other girl’s eyes, a tiny yellow glow; something that, hadn’t she been a vampire, she wouldn’t have noticed. She had read enough mythology books to know what it meant: this girl was a shifter, and not just a shift as she was, but a _real_ one. She didn’t really know what she could turn into but, if the dragon-tooth necklace was any indication, it was exactly that: a dragon. Shifters were really rare, and said to be very dangerous. They could live almost a thousand years, and got more powerful as they got older. And even if, unlike vampires, they did age; they did so very slowly, so their age was very hard to pinpoint. This girl looked like she was in her twenties, but she could be 80 years old and Vamp wouldn’t know the difference. She decided it was probably wise not to mess with the reptile; at least until she knew exactly how old, and powerful, she was—not that she could ever be more powerful than her, being centuries-old and all, but it was a risk she wasn’t willing to take. She might heal way faster than a human, but the pain was the same.

The girl snorted, _actually snorted_. “Wow, that’s real original, Elvira”

“Elvira?”

“Oh, come on. The black clothes, the long hair, the deep voice. You kinda look the part”

“Whatever”

“Was there anything you wanted, or are you just being annoying?”

“Actually, there was. But, you know what? It’s not worth it. See you around, Mushu” she said as she turned around, leaving the girl to wonder about what the nickname actually meant.

 

It wasn’t until next Thursday that what she said became true. Vamp was bored at their apartment—she had already re-read everything she needed to read for her Friday classes, and was now playing some GTA V, when M opened the door, a thousand books in their arms.

“Come on in, Nar. Oh, and don’t mind my roommate over there, she’s an ass.”

Nar was about to say something, when she actually saw who they were talking about “It’s you!” she growled.

 _Wow, the universe has a really dark sense of humour_ “Well, well. What have we here? Missing me already, Miss Rainbow?”

“Wait, you two know each other?”

“Yeah, she’s the taco girl, bro” Vamp said, as she killed some Merryweather assholes with a bazooka.

M burst out laughing. Vamp had told them the whole story, even her suspicions, but they never expected that girl to be Nar, one of their classmates. They weren’t exactly friends per se—not yet anyway—but they got along pretty well. They shared a few classes, and M knew she was queer too, so that gave them some comfort. As much as they liked Vamp, she was a handful, to say the least, and sometimes they just needed someone “normal” to hang out with.

“My name is Nar, thank you very much”

“If you say so. You can call me Vamp”

“Vamp?” she snorted “What kind of name is that?”

“A fake one. That’s all you need to know, Rainbow girl”

“Please don’t bite her head off, Vamp. She’ll be coming around here pretty often, we’re working on a project together.”

“How amusing. Fine, just don’t make too much noise; I’m in the middle of something”

“Yeah yeah, bro. See ya later” they said as they led Nar towards their room.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we learn Nar's secret, M is a shameless flirt, Trina is awkward, Carly is her lovely self, and Vamp actually does something useful for a change.

Whoever thought university life was easy was definitely wrong. One would think that, after years of having to stand the same boring, endless classes and sleepless nights of study, it would have become easier. Yeah, that was not right either. Trina groaned as she closed a very large, very heavy chemistry book. _That’s it. I need a break,_ she thought. It was a Friday night; she didn’t have classes until Monday, so why was she studying at all? Just as she was thinking what she should do next, her phone rang. It was one of her best friends, Carly.

“Carly! So nice to hear from you, how are you?” she asked excitedly, talking with Carly always made her happy.

“Nothing really, it’s a really slow night for a Friday night. I think there was a concert somewhere or something. The place is almost empty. Wanna come and keep me company?”

“Sure thing! I’ll be there in a few minutes”

Unlike many wealthy students, who were lucky enough to either life off campus, or at least on one of the fancy apartments around it, Trina didn’t have such luck. She lived in a tiny bedroom with her roommate, a really out-going, messy, annoying girl called Maria—Trina always found funny how an incredibly uptight family could have such a wild girl; but such was life, wasn’t it?—Luckily for her, she wasn’t there now, she was on a date with some frat boy (she didn’t even bother remembering the names anymore) and probably wouldn’t come back until the morning. Trina picked an outfit and got ready; she wasn’t used to going out, even if she did like doing so, and she wanted to look good, just in case.

As she made her way inside the bar she realized Carly was right: the place was almost empty. There was a tiny group of middle-aged guys drinking in a corner, and two girls were playing pool in one of the tables. Other than that, it was empty.

“Wow, this is weird. This place is usually full”

“I know, right?” said Carly, as she nodded towards Trina, her hands busy cleaning a glass. “As I said, there’s a huge concert in town, some really popular punk-rock band or something. I have no idea, really; but it seemed big”

Trina sat down on one of the bar stools and began talking to Carly. She glanced to her right, towards the pool tables, and saw a short-haired girl grinning in mischief—it seemed the other girl was about to lose. As she raised her eyes to look at the other girl she couldn’t believe what she was seeing: it was the girl from the other day, the one with the leather pants. _Oh lord._

“Trina? Are you listening to me?”

“Huh? What? Sorry, Carls; what did you say?” she said without fully turning around.

“I asked you how your day had been.” Carly followed Trina’s glance and grinned. She was so predictable. “Hey T, your gay is showing”

“What?!” she hissed, blushing instantly. “I have no idea what you mean”

“Yeah yeah; just give me a second.”

“Wait, Carls what—“ she didn’t have the chance to finish the sentence when she saw Carly approaching the pair of girls, saying something to them. With a swift movement, the dark-haired girl hit one of the balls and managed to actually win the game—getting rid of two balls, plus the black one.

“Show off” scoffed the short-haired girl, while the other one smirked, both heading towards the bar, Carly walking behind them.

“You thought you were going to beat me, weren’t you?” she said, her voice low.

As they both sat down—the short-haired girl next to Trina, the other one a bit more far away—Carly began speaking “Okay guys; Trina, I’d like you to meet my friends. This one here” she said nodding towards the short-haired girl “is M. I think you’ll like them” she said with a grin “and the grumpy one over there is Vamp”

“Vamp?” she asked in surprise—what kind of name was that anyway?

Carly didn’t seem to hear her, though the dark-haired girl—Vamp, Trina reminded herself—glared at her. “M, Vamp, this is Trina; she’s my best friend”

“Well hello there, beautiful” said M with a smirk. Vamp rolled her eyes at that.

“Uh, hey” she said, blushing a little bit. Seriously, the blushing thing sucked.

As M kept flirting with the girl—what was her name again? Tatiana? Tina? Whatever—Vamp completely zoned out, grabbing her beer and walking towards the jukebox—that was probably one of her favourite things about this bar, it had such an 80s vibe—and began looking for something good to listen to. She found some Joan Jett records and was about to play one of them when she glanced towards M—who kept awkwardly flirting, or course. M would flirt with a tree, if they found it pretty enough (or if the booze was too strong)—and thought it would be a good idea to crash their party, not because of the girl—though she was cute, after being yelled at by a trio of girls who had discovered she was seeing the three of them at the same time, she tried to stay away from those messy situations—but because annoying M was one of Vamp’s favourite hobbies; and she had just the thing for it. She began scrolling through the records and, sadly, didn’t find what she was looking for but managed to find one of The Fleetwoods’ old records. ‘Come softly to me’ began playing as she approached the cute blonde and, with a solemn expression, she raised her arm and said “Shall we dance, darling?”

Needless to say, the girl nodded and took her arm—after getting over the initial shock, that is. _God, she looked so cute when she was embarrassed—_ and as they walked towards the dance floor, she could feel M’s angry glare like knives on her back.  She smirked; _sorry bro, my turn to show off._

* * *

  

After that stunt, which earned Vamp an almost thirty-minute long rant on how ‘un-cool’ it was for ‘bros’ to steal each other’s ‘babes’—seriously, this century was fucking M up—Trina had become a common acquaintance of them. If Vamp had to guess, she’d say it was M’s pride trying to ‘win her back’. To be honest, she didn’t care; she had simply been messing with M. The last time she had been in a stable relationship she had been human—which had been centuries ago—and she had never been in love per se, so she truly didn’t give a damn about that girl, or any other for that matter. People always ended up getting tired of hanging around with her anyway and, since she made zero effort to maintain any of her ‘relationships’, the only person that was left to stand her was M. They had become her only family and constant presence through the decades and, even if she’d never admit it out loud, she loved that useless nerd; they were her bro after all, it was only logical.

Even more interesting than that, Trina was starting to see Vamp’s true colours and had come to the same conclusion as everyone else: she was a jerk. Every time she came over, a fight happened and she ended up either leaving, or yelling. It was all very stressful, so she had decided the best course of action was to ignore her—though Vamp made that pretty hard, trying to rile her up any chance she got.

At least not everything was bad, since she got to meet Nar, a friend of M’s. They became fast friends and even called each other sisters, even if they looked nothing alike. And since Vamp annoyed both of them, they had a common enemy. M enjoyed the banter way too much, often writing some of the best lines claiming it was ‘writing material’. What they were writing exactly, no one could say. The three of them would go out quite often—sometimes then even managed to drag Vamp along (at M’s request, and against everyone else’s will, of course)—and had a lot of fun. Carly would join them whenever she could as well, and eventually, they became solid friends.

 

* * *

  

There was only one day of the week Vamp actually managed to wake up before noon, and that day was Thursday. She had some very interesting philosophy classes, and it was ‘taco day’ at the stand of Mexican food. It was a pretty good day, most of the time anyway.

One of such Thursdays, as she was making her way towards the stand, she heard someone crying “No! Let me go!” Vamp began running towards the sound and, as she turned around the corner, she was it was the ‘Taco Girl’—who was known to her only as ‘L’—who was struggling to escape a very tall, very intimidating guy that seemed to be harassing her. Vamp could be many things—a sarcastic, mean asshole among them—but she wasn’t the kind of person who’d let a poor girl get hurt for no reason, especially if she was her only source of Mexican food. So, her vampire senses kicked in and as soon as she approached the guy, she grabbed him by the neck and lifted him up, pushing him against the nearest wall.

“Well hello there, asshole” she hissed “is he bothering you, Taco Lady?”

“Uh...”

“I’ll take that as a yes. Let’s take out the trash, shall we?” she said, dragging the guy all over the place and throwing him into a trash bin. Hard. A cracking sound—that had probably been caused by the guy’s bones breaking—was followed by Vamp’s hard voice, saying “I don’t know who you are, and I honestly don’t give a fuck. If you ever come near her again, it’ll be the last thing you do. Understood?”

She took the guy’s weak groan as a yes and turned around towards a very surprised, but not at all scared L, who thanked her sincerely. As they returned to the food stand, she caught a glimpse of a dark figure, hiding between two buildings. As she looked closely, she realized it was Nar. Her eyes were completely yellow—like a dragon’s—and her skin looked rougher, as if she had scales or something. She looked very upset, so much she probably didn’t even see Vamp staring. _Alright, now that was weird._ She made a mental note of going to the library to see what she could find on shifters. This girl was definitely one.

 

* * *

  

That very night, Nar came over to their place, to visit Vamp this time. M was out, probably on another murder spree—it was Thursday after all and, since mid-terms were close, they were very stressed about their papers and probably needed to unwind—so they were alone.

Vamp had been doing research all day, and her suspicions turned out to be pretty well-based. Since Nar was here and they were alone, she figured it would be as good a time as any to figure out whether she was right or not (oh, who was she kidding? Of course she was right. She was always right). They might fight a lot, but it was mostly harmless and they actually got along pretty well—by Vamp’s standards anyway. She figured her chances of actually pissing the girl off and unleashing Hell were pretty slim, so she took a run for it.

“Can I come in?”

“Sure thing, Rainbow. M’s not here though, it’s only us.”

“Good. I’ve been meaning to talk to you.”

“How so?” _Okay, this was unexpected._

Nar sat on the couch, her mind racing at a thousand miles per hour. Whatever she had to say, it was pretty important. “I just wanted to let you know I saw you today, helping L.” Vamp had to actually take a second to process that, Nar’s words were so fast she wasn’t sure she’d caught them right.

_So,_ that’s _what this was about. “_ You did?”

“Yeah; I just thought I should come and thank you. You see, I─ She’s my─ I’m─” her face became redder as she stammered, and Vamp couldn’t help but snort at her awkwardness.

“Okay, you awkward turtle-duck. I got it. You’re into her”

“...Yeah” she finally whispered, embarrassed didn’t even begin to cover it.

“Then it was my pleasure to save your girlfriend from that insufferable asshole” she said, smirking.

“Glad you had your fun. There’s something else on my mind though, how did you manage to lift him up so high?” _Well, fuck._ “And don’t try fooling me; I know no human could have done that.”

Vamp glared at her, and for a minute she didn’t know what to say. It’s not like vampires were exactly a secret, but they were thought to belong inside a fiction book, not in real life. She was pretty sure this girl was a shifter though, so she figured what the hell, right? Sitting up straight she said “Fine. You’ve got me. I’m a vampire”

“I knew it!!” Nar said, raising a finger. _God, she’s so awkward._

“Yeah yeah; excellent work, Sherlock. But I’ve done my homework too” at this Nar’s smile disappeared completely “I know you’re a shifter.”

The other girl gasped, she totally didn’t see that one coming. Shifters were very rare creatures, few people actually knew about them. Maybe Vamp was smarter than she thought. “How did you know? Nobody knows”

“I have my methods. Besides, the yellow-ish eyes and black scales made it pretty easy to figure out. I’ve been suspicious for a while; that’s why I sometimes call you Mushu, Mushu.”

Nar rolled her eyes and sighed, “I guess we’re a couple of freaks, aren’t we?”

“Maybe, but at least we’re hot freaks” she said grinning. You’ve got to see the glass half-full, right?


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which everything pretty much goes to shit

_So, Vamp is actually a vampire. Who would have seen that one coming?_ Nar laughed to herself. They had been sitting for a while now, chatting animatedly about random topics. Who would have thought Vamp could actually behave for more than five seconds? Maybe M was right and she wasn't as bad as she seemed—though secretly Nar kept expecting her to start being mean at any second.

Vamp had promised to keep her secret so long as she kept hers. Fair enough; _who'd believe it anyway?_ As they were talking about the several—albeit irrelevant—changes society had been through in the last century, the door opened, giving way to a grinning M who was, unsurprisingly, covered in blood. It was a habit of theirs, going on murder sprees whenever they felt stressed or bored. Vamp would occasionally go with them—she _loved_ painting the town red—but she had a bit busy lately, what with Nar knowing what she was and all. For a second, Vamp expected Nar to be scared—or at least surpised—but she just rolled her eyes and asked Vamp "I'm guessing they're a vampire too, right?"

''Sup Nar? Bro." they slurred. _Yup, totally drunk._ Bloodlust was stronger than any booze, and not only was it more durable—and _way more_ satisfying—it also set any vampire in some sort of pleasant trance, which meant M probably wouldn’t remember anything the next morning.

"Yeah, they are." Vamp sighed. _Damn it M!_ Maybe she should have lied but she figured it didn’t make any sense at this point.

"Figured as much"

Vamp excused herself so she could escort M to the bathroom. After she made sure they were okay—the'd be back to almost-normal in a couple hours, thanks to their vampire constitution—she came back with Nar, and they began talking again.

M eventually joined them—being only slightly tipsy now—and, after yelling at Vamp for fifteen minutes because of her lack of secrecy—which was totally not her fault, by the way—they sat down and started talking to Nar about her dragon powers.

"I can't believe you're a shifter! That's so cool! I've read a lot about you, but I'd never been able to actually meet one"

“Yeah, we’re a pretty weird bunch” Nar said, excited to finally have someone to share her secret with.

“Thankfully” mumbled Vamp under her breath, she was still pissed at Nar figuring out she was a vampire. She was usually the discreet one, that’s what happens when you’re actually nice for a change. _I’m_ _so_ _not saving a human again._

They kept talking about random topics until Nar started asking questions about vampires. She wasn’t surprised to find out both of them were centuries old—though M was about a thousand years old, while Vamp was less than three-hundred—and that they had been bros ever since Vamp was turned. The amusing part began when Nar actually wanted to hear stories about their adventures.

“Well, let me think...” said M, a hand on their chin, deep in thought “There was this time back in the 1850s when I seduced this really nice girl—”

“You mean that time a blonde girl threw a glass of scotch at your face and called her very large, very angry husband to teach you a lesson?”

“Well... Fine, maybe it didn’t go as smoothly—“

“’As smoothly’?! Are you kidding me? Look Mushu, this is what happened: we were at the theatre, in London back in the middle of the Victorian period; M had developed an awfully embarrassing crush over this blonde girl that M claimed ‘played Juliet as no-one had played her before’—“

“You don’t understand! She was sublime!” said M, complete adoration taking over their features “She was the only actress I’ve ever seen that managed to capture Shakespeare’s message—”

“Anyway, point is they forced me to follow her to this really fancy bar, where she was supposed to have dinner with her husband and a few other people. She was left alone for a second and M completely harassed the poor creature—“

“I wouldn’t call that harassment—“

“Oh, shut up. It totally was. After they tried—very unsuccessfully—to flirt with her, she was so angry she spilled a really expensive scotch on them and called her husband, who brought his friends along”

“God, that guy was so ridiculous. He came over, cracking his knuckles and said something like ‘Alright pal, let’s settle this like gentlemen’”

“And they began fighting and were about to kick M’s ass—”

“Hey!”

“Until I showed up—imagine the fuss, a woman fighting! I think they talked about it for the remaining fifty years—to save their ass”

“God, Victorians were _so_ uptight”

“Long story short, we kicked their asses, got kicked out of the bar, got pissed and burned the whole place down. It was quite the scene”

“Yeah, fire is always good”

“You damn right, bro” Vamp said as she fist-bumped M.

They continued talking until early in the morning and, when they accompanied Nar to the door, they promised to get together again soon. Maybe sharing secrets has its rewards sometimes.

 

* * *

 

Finals were completely crazy, students running around, sleep schedules gone to shit, books lying around every single room on campus and let’s not forget the insane parties afterwards. Trina and Nar disappeared completely for about three weeks, and only re-appeared after the whole chaos was over. M and Vamp did quite well, of course; and they planned a huge party to celebrate the end of the year. They didn’t have many friends, and Vamp refused to let M throw a big party in their apartment— _I’m not gonna let some random frat boys into my house, are you kidding me? They’ll ruin the parquet! I don’t care if our apartment is enormous, it’s not happening_ —so M had to be content with inviting the few friends they’d managed to make that year. The group was quite interesting: Trina, Nar, L—who had been dragged along by Nar, or course— Carly, Erin—who was a relatively new addition, since they saw her at rare intervals— and of course Vamp and M.

The lights were on, music was playing, the booze was all over the place; in short, everything was ready. M was wearing a very sophisticated suit and a, probably illegal, quantity of gel; while Vamp felt content with her usual leather pants and Ramones t-shirt. Trina and Carly came in together, many pizzas in their hands. Nar and L showed up a few minutes later—‘ _So, Mushu, this is your mysterious girlfriend, huh?’ ‘She’s not─ We’re not─ God, I hate you’_ —and, finally, Erin came over, bringing a very expensive bottle of wine that was practically snatched off her hands as soon as M saw it.

They talked animatedly for a while; they had all arranged themselves along the living room. Trina, Nar and L were sitting together on the couch, talking about some gay series they were watching; Carly and Erin were excitedly talking about football, making plans to go together to the first match as soon as the season reassumed; M was drinking themselves away in the corner, grinning and nodding at whoever addressed them; and Vamp was sitting—more like sprawled, actually—on her favourite couch, trying her hardest to zone out and listen to the music, whistling softly along with the tune.

She had been so focused on Frank Sinatra’s voice she didn’t hear Carly calling her name until she felt a hand on her shoulder.

“Hey Vamp, you want to play?”

As she turned around she saw they had switched positions; they were now sitting in a circle, drinks on hand, and they were all looking at her.

“Play what?”

“’Ne’er ‘ve I everrr’ bro” purred M, a bottle on each hand. _God, this will get out of control, real fast._

Vamp shrugged. What did she have to lose anyway? “Sure, why not? Let’s do this”

“Alright, so, let’s start with something easy, shall we?” Said Vamp as she sat down with the rest “Uh, never have I ever.... Kissed a girl”

Everybody drank, Vamp included. _Well, this is interesting._

“My turn,” said Carly. “Never have I ever... fantasised about anyone in this room”

M, Trina, Nar and L drank. Vamp smirked; _maybe this game can actually be fun._

They kept it relatively innocent for a while, with things like ‘never have I ever had a threesome’ or ‘never have I ever had sex in public’—needless to say, Vamp and M were probably going to suffer from memory loss due to how much they were drinking, which came awfully suspicious to everyone except Nar. _You can’t have done all those things! That’s bullshit! How could you even have had sex with someone twenty years younger? You’re not even 20!_

At some point, M had started to get bored and when their turn came, they decided to ‘spice things up’.

“Ne’er have I evrrr... Goneonamurderspree” they said, words tumbling from their mouth in a rush of barely distinguishable syllables. Nobody drank, including Vamp, who was throwing them a murder glare. They caught sight of Vamp and started yelling at her “Coooomee oooon, duuudee!! Don’t yeeer remembrr those dayzz backin the 1800s??!

The room went quiet, everyone’s glances directed at M and Vamp, who looked murderous. They were all pretty shocked except for Nar, who had a tiny smile on her lips.

“Uh, what are they talking about?” asked Trina, completely confused.

“Nothing, they’re just drunk, cupcake” Vamp said slowly, cautiously. _I am_ _so_ _going to kill this asshole as soon as_ we’re alone.

“DRUNK?! Y’all havn’t seen drunk! We’re vamps bro!! Don’t ya remembrr?”

“V-vampires?” said Carly, taking a step back.

“...Fuck” Vamp hissed. They all started yelling things like ‘What do you mean vampires are a thing?!’, except for Nar and L; the first was laughing and the second was oddly quiet, as if processing the information. M was really excited, doing their best to explain how cool it was to be a Vamp. They even tried to lift Vamp’s piano, but fell awkwardly and broke the coffee table. They all turned to Vamp, who was only a bit tipsy and, sighing deeply, she told them it was true. They were vampires.

“We’re not unholy creatures, like in Dracula, or pussies like those morons from Twilight though” she said quickly “We’re actually pretty cool. I’ve been stuck with that asshole over there” she said, pointing at M who was leaning against the opposite wall, trying to smooth talk a lamp, “for centuries now. We’re bros. And before you all run away: no, we’re not going to eat you or murder you in some gruesome way... Not unless you piss us off anyway” she said with a grin, her fangs finally showing.

Nar snorted at that, and when Trina asked her how she could be so blasé about the whole thing, she simply said she already knew.

“What do you mean you already knew?”

M turned around at that “Yup, she only kept the secret ‘cuz she a shiffffteeeerrrr”

Another silence. Vamp face-palmed. _Why do I hang out with this asshole again?_

“Wait, a shifter as in... One of those mystic creatures that can transform into something else?” asked Erin, curiosity shinning in her eyes. There was something odd about Erin, Vamp thought, as if she knew a lot more she let on. She’d get back to that later, now it was not the time.

“Uh... Yeah... I─ I can turn into a dragon” mumbled Nar. _This couldn’t get much worse, could it?_

“Oh my god!” cried Trina “Is someone here actually human?”

Another silence.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The after-party.

“No no no no no no. This can’t be happening. No way,” said Trina, her eyes wide, slowly getting up and retreating towards the door. “You have to be kidding, please tell me you’re kidding”

Vamp opened her mouth to answer but a sudden loud laughter stopped her. As she turned around she saw Carly, her curly hair all over the place, happy tears in her eyes, struggling to breathe “Haaaahahahaha!! This is just─ Hahahahaha I just can’t─” she kept laughing, while Trina made her way towards the door. Vamp was quick to follow.

“Cupcake wait!” Vamp said, as she followed out the door. Trina was already taking the stairs, so she ran and grabbed her by the wrist.

“Let go!” she did. _Bad move._

“I’m sorry,” she let go immediately “just... Please don’t leave” Vamp said, she was pleading now. _God, this is pathetic._

“You just admitted to be” she looked around “a vampire! And that means you are either a monster or very, very crazy and I can’t─”

“Hey, cupcake, wait. Breathe,” she said, half-laughing, half-serious. She didn’t really know why she had followed Trina outside. She convinced herself it was because she could tell someone, but actually the only thing she thought when she saw her open the doo was ‘she’s leaving, just like everyone else’.

“I wasn’t lying, cupcake.” she said, her fangs suddenly appearing seemingly out of nowhere, a creepy smile spreading all over her face “Still; I’m not going to eat you. Not unless you want me to, that is” she said, grinning. _Of course she’d choose **this** moment to flirt. _ Trina was suddenly reminded why she was both mesmerized and annoyed by Vamp. The Cupcake thing had to stop though. Trina, as a feminist, was completely against the objectification of anyone, especially herself.

“First, don’t call me that. Second, ugh!” she groaned. _Hey, she’s cute when she’s mad._

“Look, you don’t have to say or do anything about it now but” Vamp ran a hand through her hair; _what was she trying to do again? Oh yes, convince this girl not the rat them out. “_ Don’t disappear, yeah? And don’t tell anyone, I don’t want to leave this place so soon.” She said, acting as blasé as usual.

They stared for a moment that felt eternal. Vamp seemed to be looking something in Trina’s eyes, and she really hoped she found it—or not, whatever meant she’d be able to walk away from this one in one piece. Trina didn’t know what to do; she was still thinking it was all a prank, to be honest. Even though she adored M, they had always been a bit eccentric—to put it mildly—and Vamp was simply irritating—though really pretty. _Not the point!_ —and had a very dark sense of humour. One thing was certain though: it was research time.

“We’re not going to decide anything right now. I guess I need time to figure this whole ‘un-dead fiend from the pits of Hell’ business before I can do anything. I’ll let you know”

Vamp nodded, watching Trina slowly turn away and as she did, she caught a glimpse of an expression on Vamp’s face and thought how it was the first time she actually looked hurt.

 

* * *

 

As the door closed, L and Nar were left with an unstoppably laughing Carly and a very lost Erin, who kept trying to calm her down. Also, as she looked to her right, she realized they had also been left with a very asleep M, who now found themselves lying awkwardly on the floor, a lamp clutched around their arms.

“They’re vamps, Erin! Vampires!” she said Carly, her laughter slightly ceasing now. “Who would have thought?”

Erin just nodded, as if one of her suspicions had been confirmed. _One less mystery to solve._

Nar turned to L—beautiful, gorgeous L. _God Nar! Focus!—_ and she could tell she was annoyed by something.

“Hey, are you okay?”

“Uh, yeah. It’s just, I sort of over-heard Vamp... Did you tell her I'm your girlfriend?"

"What?! No! Of course not! I mean, not that there’s something wrong with that” Nar said quickly, the room feeling hot all of the sudden. “They just assumed because I talk about you all the time─ I mean, not like that! I uh─ I don't talk about you all the time! I just..." she stammered and she kept going as she secretly hoped the world would swallow her right there.

L just blushed and looked anywhere but Nar. Fixing her eyes on M she said. “It’s fine. I was, uh, just checking.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Of course. Checking. Yes. Mhmm” Nar said, nodding. _Smooth Nar, smooth._

“I was just wondering how much they knew. I mean, you knew about this whole vampire thing, didn’t you?”

“Yeah. Kind of. I figured out Vamp and she figured me too, somehow. She’s centuries old, she’s probably very resourceful. Don’t worry though,” she added quickly, for she knew how secretive L was when it came to herself, “you’re safe. She knows next to nothing about you and I certainly didn’t tell her, you know...”

“Good. Good. Thanks.” At Nar’s words she visibly relaxed, finally allowing herself to take in the scene around her. Carly had almost stopped laughing at the irony of it all and was now actually enjoying it.

“Oh my God Erin! Last week Nar and Vamp came over by the bar and started fighting over tacos. I saw a dragon and a vampire fighting over tacos!” she exclaimed excited. Erin just glared at her, clearly convinced Carly had finally lost it.

“Tacos? Why would they even care about tacos?” asked Erin, no doubt as lost as anyone would be in that situation.

“I don’t know! Isn’t it ridiculous? Hahahaha! It’s so hilarious! We call her Vamp because she’s a vampire! Talk about hiding in plain sight! Hahahaha!”

“Maybe we should just take you home, what do you say Carls?”

“Vamp is a vampire! Hahaahahah that’s just─” she kept laughing. It was clearly not over. Erin sighed and grabbed her arm, helping her up. “Sorry Nar, L, I’m gonna help her get home, alright? I’ll see you around. Happy holidays!”

Just as they said their goodbyes and were out the door, Vamp came in, clearly pissed. “God, this fucking sucks! I can’t believe you─” she turned at M, only to find them still sleeping, their arms still wrapped around that stupid reading lamp “And of course you’re sleeping right now, asshole.” She ran a hand through her hair, realizing suddenly that only Nar and L were there now, and that they looked clearly uncomfortable at her sudden entrance.

“I’m not interrupting something, am I?” she growled. She had never been a very nice person, and she was simply not in the mood to pretend she was even fine.

“Maybe we should go” whispered L, only for Nar to hear—not that it mattered, since Vamp was actually a vampire (shocker, right?)

“That’d be nice, actually. Sorry guys, we’ll continue this another time.” She said, tired. She was so tired she didn’t even have the energy to be an asshole, how sad was that?

“It’s fine, Vamp. The promise still stands” offered Nar, giving her a meaningful look. She would have been sarcastic, but the vampire looked really upset, and Nar didn’t really know what she was capable of; besides, she had suffered enough for one night. “Happy holidays, by the way” she said as they approached the door.

“Yeah. Same” Vamp said. As soon as the door closed, she looked around the apartment—which was now, a mess. A mess _she_ had to clean. She decided to let it go for now and simply plopped on the couch, sighing.

 

* * *

 

Vamp was awoken by a sudden ray of light hitting her directly in the eye. She groaned and turned around, which caused to fall face-first on the floor. She growled and raised her head, suddenly realizing she wasn’t on her bed; she was—or actually, had been—on the couch, in their living room. As she stood up, she saw M was still asleep with the lamp— _Oh, I am soooo going to tease them about it—_ and decided to wake them the fuck up. After the mess they caused last night, the last thing they deserved was sleep. So, she started kicking them—not enough that it would hurt them at all, just annoy them—and they were suddenly awake, hissing.

“Bro, what the fuck?!”

“No, don’t you dare ‘what the fuck’ me! I should be saying that to you! Do you know how much trouble you got us into?!”

The truly seemed lost at that. _Of course they wouldn’t remember, they slept with a lamp, for Christ’s sake!_ She proceeded to explain everything to them and, when she was done, they couldn’t stop laughing.

“So I actually ratted us out?! Hahahaaha! Now _that’s_ a new one!” they said, tears in their eyes from laughing so hard.

“This is not fucking funny! Are you kidding me?! They _know,_ M!!”

“Ah, come on! It’ll be fine. They’re probably not even human! Nar certainly isn’t, and there’s definitely something up with Erin too—“

“I don’t care! Fix it!”

“How the fuck, do you want me to do that?!”

“I don’t know. You can certainly being by fixing the mess you made last night,” she said, gesturing around the apartment. M sighed. Vamp might be blasé about pretty much everything, but she certainly liked her space clean.

“Fine; but first, I’m going to take a shower. I smell like crap.”

“Don’t forget about your girlfriend,” said Vamp, pointing towards the lamp, that was now lying on the floor where M had been.

“Oh, fuck off!” they said, heading towards the bathroom.

Vamp’s laughter filled the apartment as M walked away.

 

* * *

 

Nar woke up on her bed and instantly smiled at the memories of last night. First, the party—no real comments about that one. It was simply gold. Deep down, she was actually glad they knew; she had been looking for a way to tell them, but she didn’t know how. They had really grown on her, and she didn’t want to hide anything from them—then, walking L home and finally, dreaming about her all night.

Even though she had drank a bit—not too much since, regardless of how old she was, she wasn’t was wild as M and Vamp were—she could remember it all perfectly: as they had exited the apartment, they began walking down the street, with no real direction at first—even if they would eventually end up at L’s place, they loved to wonder around, talking. The moon was shining bright, watching over the stars, which were watching over there, distant and beautiful. Nar looked up and took it all in; nature was truly beautiful. No matter how many times she stared at the sky, she always found it as stunning as the time before. As they walked down L’s street, they found themselves talking about ‘the good old days’—Nar and L had been friends for almost a century now.

As she heard a story L was telling her, her mind started to drift away, lost in all the memories. She remembered it all so clearly: she remembered the riots, the fight, her accidental shifting; the people chasing her all over town. She had been running for a while when she saw a small house by a river. She had no idea she wasn’t alone as she snuck in. As she closed the door, she stumbled upon L. Ever since that moment, they had been friends—and they could probably be a bit more than that if they said something about it—staying together over the centuries.

Her mind wondered to L herself: her Mexican parents—who were very conservative; which is very understandable if we considered they lived during the Reform War—the fact she had been killed in of the riots of Mexican City, and the fact she had had trouble staying dead; the fact she was actually a ghost.

It had been very disconcerting at first, seeing her floating around the room, going through walls, but she had gotten used to it. Together, they figured out a way for L to ‘materialize’, that is, to actually obey the laws of physics, and a way for Nar to control her shifting. They had helped each other, and they had come to a point where they couldn’t imagine their lives without the other.

Nar lay awake thinking about it all—her relationship with L, her new friends; the fact those friends were actually _immortal_ and ‘ _freaks’_ like her. She smiled. She was glad she could finally have someone aside from L. She was undoubtedly more than enough, but still; Nar, even if a bit weird and shy, loved people, ached for having friends, friends she could actually tell things to, share her secrets with. Maybe she had found that. She smiled wider at the thought.

 

* * *

 

It was 8 am and Trina was still awake. She had spent all night during research on both vampires and shifters. Sadly, she had come empty-handed, at least as far as ‘true’, reliable information went. She had found endless myths, literature references, even a cult called ‘The Vampire Temple’; but nothing even resembling useful. She sighed and grabbed another cookie—it was her third pack already. It seemed she only had one option left: ask a vampire. Only, she couldn’t do that. As far as she knew, she only knew two vampires; and she wanted to learn more without said vampires knowing; which pretty much meant she had reached an impasse. She decided to take a shower and sleep it off. Maybe the answers she was looking for would come once her head was clear.

As soon as she woke up, she found herself alone; her roommate had gone away for the holidays, and she had been ready to leave too—as much as her family drove her crazy, she actually missed them when she was gone; and college kept her so busy she only saw them a couple times a year—but now she just couldn’t leave this mystery unsolved. No, she was going to at least find out something useful before leaving. Sometimes she wondered if she shouldn’t have studied journalism, her passion for solving mysteries was unmatched.

She decided she couldn’t do this alone and, since she had no idea what to do next, there was only one thing to do: go see Carly. Carly always gave the best advices, and Trina knew she was someone she could always count on. With that in mind, she grabbed her car-keys and got out of the room.

It was Carly’s day off, which meant she was at home watching Netflix instead of working non-stop at the bar. As she opened the door, Trina was greeted by a ‘just-woke-up’ version of Carly—sweatpants, baggy t-shirt, messy hair—even though it must have been like three pm. At least she seemed happy to see her.

“Trina! How are you? Please, come in”

As she did, she was reminded why she always went to the bar whenever she wanted to see Carly: her apartment was a mess. There were pizza boxes and dirty dishes everywhere; you couldn’t see the sofa due to how many probably-clean clothes were on it; and better not look in the direction of her bedroom. Carly was both the most wonderful person, and the worst adult ever. There was probably a moral there, somewhere, but Trina wasn’t going to look for it right now. Instead, she hugged Carls and proceeded to find the best place to sit.

“Uh, sorry the place is a _little_ messy,” _Well, that’s the understatement of the century_ “I’ve been busy.”

“Don’t worry Carls, it’s alright. I have something to ask you: what do you think about M, Vamp and Nar not being... human?”

Carly raised her flawless eyebrows at that, “Uh, I was a bit freaked out about it last night; but now I think it’s pretty awesome, don’t you?”

“’ _Awesome’?_ Are you insane?”

“Oh, come on! They’re not that bad. Nice is an awkward, sweet turtle-duck. M may be a mess, but they’re good; I’ve known them for a while now. And Vamp... Well, she’s a very interesting character, that’s for sure.”

“Yeah, if by ‘interesting’ you mean insufferable; then yes”

“Don’t lie to me; I’ve seen the way you look at her” Carly said, smirking.

“What?” Trina blushed instantly. “I have no idea what you mean! She might be hot but—“

“Yup; there it is”

“ **But,** that’s not important at all. She’s a monster Carly! How could you expect me to even look at her in the eye?”

“So what are you going to do now, ignore them?”

“Maybe, I don’t really know; it’s just, they kill people Carly!  They’re evil! I don’t know what to do” she sighed. She truly had no idea what to do. Nar was like her sister by now, she adored M, and she definitely felt something for Vamp—even if that was annoyance. _This is such a mess,_ she thought as she lowered her head.

She suddenly felt Carl’s hands on hers and she raised her head and gave her the tiniest smile. “Look Trina, this is a lot to take in, I know; but they’re good people, you know that. Why don’t you take some time off? It’s winter holidays, Trina. Go home, see your family, read something. If, after break, you still think you shouldn’t even look at either of them, then fine, but maybe you just need a break from all of this. Some time to think”

Trina nodded slowly. That made perfect sense. She just needed to rest, to take her mind off things. She would go home, hang out with her old friends and family, enjoy the holidays, and she’d come back with a clear mind.

_God, it’s going to be a long holiday._


	5. Interlude I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We finally take a break from the main story, and explain a bit about some of the character's past...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to say thanks to Nar for writing the first part. Thank you for your constant support sis! It means the world.

“One taco for you m’lady, with all the fixings and extra jalapenos. Just how you like it,” L said, placing the container on the stone table in front of Nar and sliding into the space next to her on the bench.

“Thank you,” She smiled and took up the taco, promptly spilling some of the filling on to herself, “Damn it, already?”

L laughed and propped her head up on the table, “Don’t you think you eat too many tacos?”

Nar gasped, clutching a hand to her chest dramatically, “How could you even say such a thing?! It’s tacos L. Do you even know how good they are?”

“In case you’ve forgotten I’m Mexican; and I made the one you’re eating right now. So yes, I do know. And you’d think since you eat them so much you’d have figured out how to not spill anything from them by now.”

“Oh hush,” Nar said, making them both laugh. She then gestured to the empty space on the table in front of L. “Not going to eat?”

“Eh, I don’t feel like it.”

“Just because you don’t have to eat doesn’t mean you shouldn’t. Have a bite,” Nar offered her taco.

L shook her head, “I’ll eat later” she said, grinning.

“I’m holding you to that”

“I’m sure you will,” L said with a small smile, “So, you didn’t tell me yet how Vamp figured out you’re a shifter.”

“Right. She saw me when I was angry, and you know how I get when that happens.”

L’s eyebrows arched up, “What got you so angry that it brought out the eyes and scales?”

Nar blushed and coughed, grabbing her water and drinking quickly, “Uh… I don’t really remember.”

“Nar…”

“Well… remember that jerk face who Vamp tossed into the bin for you?”

“You were around when that happened?”

“…Yeah,”

“So that’s why… Oh… Oh, I see.” It was L’s turn to blush. They were both quiet for a moment before L asked, “Why didn’t you tell me about Vamp and M?”

“I promised not to tell anyone.”

“Yeah, but you tell me everything.”

“I don’t tell you everything.”

“Really?” she gasped. “What about your life do you not share with me?”

Nar coughed and looked away, mumbling something so soft that L couldn’t make it out.

“What was that?”

She shook her head and looked back at L, “Nothing, never mind.”

L wasn’t buying it, but she decided to let it slide, just this once. Instead, she said: “So, what did she say when you said you knew she was a vampire?”

Nar laughed, “It wasn’t dramatic as when we first met, that’s for sure.”

They both laughed, “You still remember that?”

“Of course, like it was yesterday.” Nar’s grin was matched by L’s as she thought back to that faithful night...

 

* * *

 

Somewhere in Mexico, back in the 19th century, Nar found herself following the trail of what the Mexican folks were calling ‘El fantasma de la casa abandonada’. Ever since she had been old enough to shift, she had travelled the world looking for someone like her, someone who’d understand her; someone she could tell her secrets too; someone who wouldn’t die a few decades later and leave her alone.

She had never believed in ghosts, really, but she was a lizard—kind of—so everything was possible, right? The story had pretty solid bases too, and the trail ended in some small Mexican town in the middle of nowhere. Access by road was not only slow but also very complicated, so she decided flying was the best option.

It should be said that, since she was very young, she still had trouble controlling her transformation—which basically meant she would sometimes shift without wanting too, or would lose control at the most unexpected situations. She vividly remembered that time she was flying and shifted back to human form. It was as fun as it sounds. At least she managed to shift back before she ended as a pile of reptile ashes, so not everything was bad.

She arrived the town by flying—in the middle of the night, of course. A black girl would attract enough attention as it; a dragon? Let’s just say 19th century folks were known for their torches and pitchforks—and started roaming around, looking for the place the ‘legend’ took place at: Apparently, it was a very old, very big house located outside of town. Nobody knew much about it, expect that the whole family who had lived there last had died in some sort of riot and ever since then, the house was haunted by a ‘ghost’. These nonsensical accusations were made by the teens that were brave enough to actually get in. Needless to say, they ran away within minutes, refusing to even look at the place ever again. After a while, nobody dared to even get close to the place, to the point the surrounding houses had been abandoned, the house growing around it, avoiding it like the plague.

She made her way through town until she lost control of herself and fell to the ground. _Not this again,_ she hissed; she knew she was losing it again. She could see the black scales on her skin, and she guessed she probably had yellow eyes too. Questioning the locals was out of the question now, so she tried to get out of town, preferably unseen, at least until she could calm down and regain some control.

Of course, that was easier said than done; as she passed under street-lanterns, somebody saw her.

“Un monstruo! Un monstruo!” yelled a man across the street. _Well, fuck._

She tried to play it cool and keep walking, but people started to gather and she had to run. She tried to run away but they were organized— _Wow, these guys are really used to chasing things around_ —and, before she knew it, they were carrying torches and pitchforks and chasing her around town.

“Agárrenlo! Mátenlo!” kept yelling a woman; she seemed really angry. It would have been easier to tell if she actually knew what the woman was saying, but whatever.

Nar kept running, until she reached a dead end. As she turned around, she finally saw the mob, rapidly approaching. There must have been about a hundred people—probably the whole town—angrily shoving torches around, some actually did have pitchforks, and she might have seen one holding a shovel. She had to think, fast.

“Lo tenemos! Lo tenemos! Lo─” said an excited old man, though his joyful words were cut off as Nar quickly climbed a house and jumped, disappearing from their sight. She kept running without a real direction, until she saw even less and less houses. She could still hear the villagers behind her—a bit further back now, thanks to her detour—so she decided to hide until the worst passed. She opened the first door she found and got in.

As soon as her eyes adjusted, she realized she had entered an abandoned house. _Well, at least no one will come looking for me here._ The house was pretty big, though it seemed it had been abandoned for a while. While she contemplated the living room, she heard a noise coming from inside the house. Thinking the villagers might have gotten in, she tried to run and hide but, clumsy as Nar was, she tripped and fell face down, her jaw hitting the floor with a loud sound. As she looked up, a glowing, floating mass of—incorporeal—matter stared back at her, wide-eyed. Nar yelled. The creature yelled. Basically, there was a lot of yelling.

As they got over it, they were both hit by the realization of what the other was. The Ghost realized that this girl, whatever she was, wasn’t human—unless they now have yellow eyes and scales, she hadn’t been out in a while. Nar realized that whatever was standing next to her was what she had been looking for all her life.

Ah, if only she knew.

 

* * *

* * *

The road home was a long and lonely one, but at least she had music. As Trina listened to ‘ _Follow your arrow’_ —there’s probably something ironic there—her mind kept on racing. Her family’s problems, or even school problems—the most important things in her life until now—didn’t seem at all important compared to her brand-new ‘Supernatural Agenda’. How couldn’t she notice this before? Was she so incredibly stupid? Or blind? Or were Nar, Vamp and M so good at hiding it she couldn’t have known? After trying to wrap her head around it for almost half an hour, she gave up and instead focused her energies on her next step.

Should she just accept the fact both M and Vamp were some sort of twisted, evil creatures—and the fact Nar was, well, a flying lizard—and keep hanging out with them despite it all or should she just pretend she’d never seen them before?

 _No, wait. This is stupid,_ she said to herself. _You know the world is not black and white. You know everyone has a tiny bit of light inside them, no matter how bad they are. Redemption can always be achieved, no matter who you are or what you’ve done._ It wasn’t really wise to just treat them like monsters just because they were supernatural creatures, now was it? Neither of them had ever done—really—bad things, at least not that she knew. Nar was a sweetheart; M was a bit weird, but deep down they were a sap; and Vamp, even if an asshole, had her good qualities—probably. _She did save L, didn’t she? That has to count for something._

She’d give them a chance as soon as she came back. But first, she had to know more, to calm down, and to relax. Carly was right, as usual. How many times she’d saved Trina from making stupid decisions she couldn’t say. Carly had always stood by her side, giving her advice and being a true friend—maybe even her only friend, until Nar and the rest came along. She’d been saving Trina from the moment they met, in so many ways she couldn’t even explain. As she looked out the window, taking in the beautiful fields in front of her, she thought of how far back her friendship went...

 

* * *

One would think high-school would get easier after a while, but it rarely does. It usually just gets worse. Trina had never really liked it—she was the kind of person who loved staying home watching Netflix, the kind of person who sees the best in people, the kind who’d fight until the very end for what she believes in.

Usually, high-school tends to treat that kind of people like shit.

She was quietly making her way to school—walking, since she lived pretty close—daydreaming about what she’d do once classes were over, when three guys—seniors who were part of the football team—stood right in front of her. She looked up, confused—she was used to being insulted by the cheerleaders and ‘popular’ girls, of course, but such things usually ended as soon as she was out of their sight. This was unusual.

“So, word is you are the one who told Mrs. Blahnik I cheated on last week’s exam” said Tony, the team’s captain and most popular guy in school.

Trina froze. So, _that_ is what this is about. Last week she had seen Tony cheating during a French test and, after the class was over, she had gone to the desk and told her teacher. Trina had always been a passionate defender of lost causes, and she had such a sense of justice she just couldn’t be quiet when something was wrong. Besides, she loved Mrs. Blahnik; she deserved to know. She never thought people would find out it had been her—not that she actually stopped thinking about that when it all happened, but still. She was in trouble, and she knew it.

“Uh...”

“Don’t even try to deny it!” added one of the other boys—Trina didn’t know their names, though it was probably something generic like ‘Sam’ or ‘Justin’; jocks always had those dumb names.

“I know it was you,” Tony said, clearly angry. He took a step forward and grabbed her by the wrist.

“Whoa, dude, we don’t hit ladies; that’s so un-cool” breathed the third guy—who, if Trina remembered correctly, was called ‘Will’—clearly not happy to disobey Tony, but still trying to exercise whatever moral fiber he had left.

Tony didn’t turn around; instead, he grinned in the most terrifying way. “Don’t worry, Chuck; I’m just going to teach her a lesson. Dad has always said women are only good for one thing,” he grinned widely, her friends imitating him.

Trina closed her eyes, doing her best not to cry, when she heard someone yelling “Wilson Benjamin Costa The Third! What the hell are you doing?!”

The three guys turned around, clearly surprised. Trina opened her eyes and she was greeted by a short girl with very curly hair—who was now reprimanding the three guys as if she was their mother.

“Carly! Sis! We were just─”

“Oh, don’t you ‘Carly’ me! I know exactly what you were trying to do! You better go to school now, before it’s too late.” He nodded and started walking away. Then, she turned to Tony—who was clearly ashamed—and began yelling at him too; “and you! Anthony! What do you have to say?”

“Carly, I’m sorry; I just─”

“After all these years, have you learned nothing? Popularity doesn’t exempt you from being a human being, you know? I am so disappointed,” she said, shaking her head.

Tony was clearly ashamed; he lowered his head and said he was sorry.

“No, don’t apologize to me,” she said, turning to Trina, “apologize to her”

For a second Tony just stared to her as if to say ‘are you serious?’ but, as soon as he saw she actually meant it, he mumbled an apology and walked away.

“Are you okay?” Carly said; genuine concern in her deep, brown eyes.

“Yes. Thank you; thank you very much” said Trina, silent tears finally falling down her cheeks. Carly wiped them with her thumb, smiling slightly.

She offered to walk Trina to school, and she accepted. She had never had many friends to begin with and, deep down, there was nothing she desired more than to have someone to share things with.

As they walked down the street, they talked about a lot of things—Trina found out Carly was too years older, Will was actually her brother, and she lived close to Trina’s place. When they said their goodbyes at the main door and promised to see each other soon, Trina smiled.

Maybe high-school wouldn’t be so bad after all.


End file.
